A brief history of Serenity Valley
by mskkid
Summary: A brief history of Serenity Valley is exactly what it says, a short history of the Valley and it's inhabitants before,during and after the Unification War. It does not comply exactly with canon so AU. Rated T to be safe.


"**This is what it means to say Serenity Valley"**

**By Mskkid**

**Disclaimer I own none of the characters in this story.**

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

**Arthur C. Clarke**, _"Profiles of The Future", 1961 (Clarke's third law)_

Long ago the Valley was just snow and ice. The air was poison to all life. Winds howled across the desolate, icy, lifeless plain. It had been like this as long as it had existed; cold, lifeless and unchanging. Then far far away the Earth That Was got used up. Those who inhabited the Earth That Was left it. They came to Serenity Valley and saw it could not hold their life. So they sent their machines. Machines made of steel and plastic. Machines filled with oil and fire. Machines meant to change the Valley of snow and ice. Machines that carried hope. These machines landed on Serenity Valley and began their long work. In their first year on the Valley they purified the air and made it so it would carry the wind of life. But the wind was harsh and biting and sounded like the screams of the dead Earth That Was. In their second year on the Valley they purified the land, they changed some of the ice to water and some of it to land. But the land was harsh and rocky and would not bear much fruit. For a while the Valley was much changed it was still a desolate Valley. But now it was a desolate Valley full of promise. And the people who came in their great ships in the sky saw that it could take them, would take them. And while many of the people from the ships from the Earth That Was left, some stayed.

Those that stayed began their new life. It was a simple life and a difficult one but mostly good. At the beginning it was hard. And from among the people of the Valley rose a leader. His name was Yami, and while his name meant "dark" he was a beacon of light for the people of the Valley in the early years. He rose among them as a leader and he said "This life will be rough and harsh, it will not be an easy life but we will prevail. We will make a home here in this Valley and we will not let the Valley conquer us! Some of us will die but those who survive will honor the survivors by living!" In the early months there were no houses, no food, no water and the settlers all but used up the supplies they had brought with them from The Earth That Was. But than the Valley provided. The new rocky cliffs provided caves to live in while the new air provided rain. Slowly the plants began to grow and the people from Earth That Was began to learn the ways of farming. And the people from Earth That Was, those that survived, began to thrive. And sometimes another ship would come from the sky and more people would come and some would stay and some would not and sometimes someone who had lived in the Valley would leave in one of those ships. And some of the ships brought animals and the people began to farm more and once again knew the taste of meat. And years after the people first arrived they began to plant their seed and the first child was born of Serenity Valley and here was much rejoicing among the people of the Valley. Soon after this happened the first of the original settlers, Yami's child Azumi, died. With her death the people of the Valley mourned. This cycle was repeated many times in the valley, a birth and then a death again and again. Occasionally the cycle would be broken, a woman would have twins, someone would die early and other unforeseeable events. Yet the population of the Valley remained fairly stable. Thus the Valley was able to provide food, water and shelter enough for all, letting the people continue with their fulfilling lives. And as the people grew and flourished so did the Valley. It began to grow new fruits and vegetables like no food that had existed on the Earth That Was. And the people of the Valley cherished these crops as symbols of acceptance from their home and thanked the Valley for them.

And as time passed the last of the settlers from the Earth That Was died and there was much mourning in the Valley for their last connection to the fabled planet was gone. And as even more time passed the people of the Valley began to forget more and more of the truth of the Earth That Was until it became a legend and some stopped believing in it entirely. Yet the Valley remained and while some came in the ships from the sky and some left, there were never enough in the Valley to cause strife and thus the Valley got it's name: Serenity.

Yet far away from Serenity, although not as far away as the legendary Earth That Was, trouble was brewing. On new planets where other people from the Earth That Was had settled there was more technology than there was in Serenity Valley. Many of these planets got together and formed The Alliance. The Alliance decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. Those who did not want to join under the rule of The Alliance called themselves The Independents. And so started the first war since the people of many generations ago had left the Earth That Was. Many battles were fought on many planets and the tide of the war flowed back and forth between The Alliance and The Independents. Of all this the people of Serenity Valley remained blissfully unaware, for they were simple folk with no ships to take them away from their Valley and no ships coming to it, because of the war.

And yet, such as stepping on a butterfly can cause a hurricane, so too did the war begin to affect Serenity Valley in other ways. When a ship did not come to trade for several months the people of the Valley began to wonder what had happened. And when a ship did not come for a year people the people of the Valley began to think that they were the only humans left. This though combined with the lack of small frivolities and luxuries that the ships had brought began to spread a pallor of gloom over the Valley.

And than one day many, many ships began to descend on the Valley, for both The Alliance and The Independents realized the strategic value of a mostly empty planet. For the people of Serenity Valley had never left their Valley as they had no need to. They had all they needed in the Valley and thus never needed to expand beyond it where things might not be as fulfilling as they had in the Valley. And because of this both The Alliance and The Independence wanted this pure, almost untouched planet. They came to build new centers of command, to strip the planet of its natural resources. The people of the Valley did not like this but what could they do? The outsiders had ships and guns where they only had simple farming tools. And so the people were driven out of their Valley, their home, as one of the greatest battles in the long war. The people who had been moved out of the valley looked on (when it was safe) and watched their home being destroyed. They watched their crops be trampled by troops. They watched their houses used as cover and blown up by bombs. They watched as more and more people died in a weeks long battle between two evenly matched forces. And than one night it was over. The Alliance brought in their huge city-ships and brutally, ruthlessly crushed The Independents. And after that the war was over. Yes there were a few more skirmishes but both sides had lost many forces and with the benefit of this strategically placed planet with it many natural resources turned the tide and ended the war.

And so the Alliance set up their factories on the planet, which they named Hera after a goddess of pride from a long dead civilization on a long dead planet. And the people of the Valley tried to return to their normal lives but with the outsiders on the planet it was impossible. And than one day, less than a decade later The Alliance was toppled by Serenity. Not by the Valley or its people but by a ship named for the bloody battle fought there, who's captain had fought for the Independents. His name was Mal, and while his name meant "bad" he was a good man. He and the crew of his ship dug up one of The Alliance's secrets on a near-dead planet called Miranda. And they broadcast this secret to all who would listen. All planets heard this signal as it went far and wide, through all known regions of space and many of the unknown regions as well. And as Mal and the crew of Serenity rejoiced and they said "today was a good day for The Alliance fell and now people in all the worlds are free". And the Alliance's control of the planets, already tenuous from being stretched too thin crumbled like dust. And the few remaining Alliance members retreated to their gigantic city-ships and left to places unknown. And the people of the Valley rejoiced. And with the Alliance gone they began to rebuild their homes and their lives. And once more the Valley deserved the name, Serenity.


End file.
